In certain instances it is useful to know if a physical location of a mobile device associated with a user correlates to the location of a second device being used by the user. By comparing the geographical locations of the two devices, the user can be authenticated. If the two locations are not physically near each other, it may be assumed that a man-in-the-middle attack is underway as the transaction appears to emanate from a location that is distant from the actual user.
One of the issues of utilizing location correlation is that it allows for tracking and collection of precise location details of individuals which, from a privacy perspective, may be undesirable.